Joint life insurance in the event of divorce?

Joint life insurance in the event of divorce?

I am the beneficiary of a life insurance policy in my name. Does it have to be divided in the event of divorce? And what about my third pillar?

Annabelle

There are three types of matrimonial property regime in Switzerland: participation in acquests, separation of property and community of property. The first is the basic regime, which means that a married couple who do not sign a marriage contract before a notary will, by law, be subject to the regime of participation aux acquêts. These matrimonial property regimes influence the distribution of the spouses' assets in the event of the liquidation of their joint affairs; such liquidation occurs in particular in the event of divorce or death.

In the event of the divorce of spouses subject to the regime of participation in acquests, their property is divided into four distinct masses: the wife's own property and acquests on the one hand, and those of the husband on the other. Acquests will be shared equally, while the husband's own property remains the sole property of the spouse to whom it belongs.

Article 197 of the Civil Code states that acquests consist of everything acquired by the spouses for valuable consideration during the marriage; they consist in particular of the proceeds of their work, sums paid by pension institutions and income from assets (including own property). Own property includes, among other things, the spouses' belongings reserved exclusively for their personal use, everything the spouses owned before the marriage and anything they acquire free of charge during the marriage, in particular shares in inheritances.

In the case of life insurance or third-pillar policies, only their surrender value is likely to be shared. This is usually stated on the policy and depends on the proportion of the premiums paid that correspond to savings, plus the guaranteed interest and minus the costs incurred, especially if the policy is terminated before maturity. In the case of pure risk life insurance (in which only the risk of death is insured and no savings are built up), nothing is shared because there is no surrender value.

Whether this amount should be shared depends on the source of the contributions. For example, a spouse who finances his or her third pillar with acquests will have to share the surrender value with his or her spouse. If, on the other hand, the premiums were paid out of the spouse's own assets, there will be no requirement to share.

Finally, if you are governed by the regime of separation of property, nothing will be divided. You should therefore choose your matrimonial property regime wisely before getting married.